To induce or not

I'm 26w so I have plenty of time to think about this. My doctor has recommended inducing at 40w because of the risk of stillbirth being greater for women over 40 (I'm 43). My last appt, out of the blue, he mentioned inducing at 39w. He said he expected pushback from me and he's right. My BP is normal, my weight is ok, and I have the 3 hr GD test this week.

If I have GD I can understand inducing earlier because sugars are hard on the placenta.

But I have had 4 vaginal births to date with no issues. Only difference is I was under 40.

My first 2 births were inductions to fit the OBs schedule and I swear I have PTSD from them. My next 2 births were homebirths and amazing! I loved waking up to contractions and having them build gently over the day. I also had waterbirths and that made things bearable.

If you're still with me, got any information to sway me or any advice? I'm in contact with the MW who attended my home births and she understands my concerns and willing to listen to me. My doctor is into gentle inductions - Pitocin to get contractions going and then turn off the drugs and let me labor. He says the hospital has telemetry and labor tubs.

Comments (9)

I had a baby in June at age 42 and was induced at 39 weeks. The stillbirth stats were enough to scare me, and my son was plenty big at that point. My induction lasted 36 hours but that was mostly trying to get things started. I don’t think there’s a right answer - you just have to read the research and make a decision that you’re comfortable with. FWIW, it sounds like you have a nice supportive doctor and hospital!

In the end its gonna be our decisions. But the stats on Still Births after 40 scare me. Had 2 Aunts experience that. Good HBs days before a still born (USA hospitals in the 70s) . I will apologize to my baby for not giving birth all natural in a carboard hut by the river like my grandmother. 1st generation American.

I have had 2 kids. I truly tried to go to term and vaginal. Ended w both Cs. This 3rd will be a nice calm scheduled C. Looking back if I didn't live in this wonderful country in this century we both would have died. My DS (dear son) stalled at for 24rs at 9.5 before his little heart started to get tired. DD (dear daughter) flipped sideways, 4x a cord around her neck. And both kid's head is in the 95%.

Statistically you are at a greater risk for stillbirth due to placental failure when you're AMA. It's still a relatively low rate, but it's something like twice as common when you're over the age of 40. What you have going for you is that you've had a few successful births with no issues and your current pregnancy seems to be going well too. I had #3 at 43 and decided to induce at 39w. I probably didn't need it, but I have friends/family who have had stillbirths and it just wasn't something I wanted to be freaked out about. Good luck with your decision!

I’m 43 also and it’s a question I have for my next appt. This is my 5th. I hold them until term and beyond so I was induced at 41 weeks my last pregnancy at 39. Now that I’ve been induced I’m more open to it especially with the risk of my placenta crapping out this time.

This topic causes me some crazy anxiety as well.. My doctor has mentioned it- at my pre pregnancy interview (I’ve recently switched providers) but I haven’t brought it up again... yet.
I see her for my first official OB appointment on Dec 3.
Honestly I’m open to it, because I’ve lost enough.
However I have had one induction, my second pregnancy, & it was AWFUL! Granted it was nearly 22 years ago, but I vowed never to do it again, & also commited to having my future babies completely unmedicated! My last three were born at 41 & 3, 40 & 6, & 40 & 1! (Not to mention my first son- who was born at 41 weeks!) My body just doesn’t like to do birth early! So naturally I’m afraid that inducing is going to completely erase the possibility of having a delivery free of pain meds, & will also increase the possibility of a c section.

In the end tho- I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.. & if frequent biophysical profiles & NSTs aren’t enough to ease docs mind? I guess I’ll be headed for induction.

Trying to wrap my head around having low risk boring pregnancies and deliveries to now being this doctor's ticking time bomb. I'm not his oldest patient or the one with the most deliveries, so I have to trust he's seen both good and bad outcomes. Having to amazing natural births and now facing an induction just sucks the joy out of me.

The other concern I have and I really need to talk about is him saying one thing and hospital doing another. That happened with both inductions and I felt blindsided. With my homebirths I wrote an unofficial birth plan with the midwives - they have forms and a list of things I want and didn't want. So I'm thinking I will need to write a birth plan this time and go over it with him and bring it with me too.

I came home with my newborn on my 44th birthday. I was induced at 41 wks only bc baby was op then flipped oa and as a vbac i needed my ob to be with me.

I was having bpp and nst and my fluid was low. Baby then went left occiput transverse and 12 hrs with no epidural... epidural was given as i had been 5 hrs with no change and i needed help repositioning the baby and i was already in agony. Btw op hurts like hell but LOT/ROT is the way worse. No relief with counter pressure.

I had great nst and bpp but the low fluid and then she flipped from op to oa 5 min later seemed like a clear indication that i needed my water to be broken and thats all it took...pitocin was given in the end stages of labor. Getting her to get oa when she was rotated was lots of work by my husband using my leg as a crow bar while i pushed and ob tried to convince her to rotate... but then i labored down for an hr... and 2 contractions and 6 pushes later she was born.

This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

This site is published by BabyCenter, L.L.C., which is responsible for its contents as further described and qualified in the Terms of Use.

You are passing a message to a BabyCenter staff member.
For the fastest help on community guidelines violations, please click 'Report this' on the item you wish the staff to review.
For general help please read our Help section or contact us.